Computer-implemented question and answer game

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented question and answer game based on using opinion polls that have already been carried out on a representative sample of people. Results of the opinion polls and predefined questions are stored in a knowledge base associated with the system, which is typically implemented on an Internet site. Players connecting via the Internet are asked to guess what they think the opinion poll results were, and are scored by the computer-implemented system according to the correspondence between their guesses and the information stored in the knowledge base, with prizes being distributed on the basis of the score.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a game in which a series of questions is put toa player and the player is scored and may earn a prize.

2. Description of the Related Art

Very many games have already been proposed that are based on questionsand answers.

In a first type, knowledge games, questions are presented to players inbinary form (answers of the true/false type) or in the form of amultiple choice questionnaire, etc. in order to test a player's degreeof knowledge in a given field. The operator, i.e. the game organizer,compares the answers given by the player with known reference answers,corresponding to various true facts and allocates a corresponding score.

That first type of game is a game of deterministic type (the player'sanswers are compared with intangible reference answers that are known inadvance), and the game does not require some minimum number of playersto participate.

Another type of question-and-answer game is that comprising games of the“voting” type in which the operator asks for a player's opinion on someperson, show, etc. Under such circumstances, the answers are no longerdeterministic, but merely represent the opinion of the player. The gamegenerally lies in drawing lots once a sufficient number of players hasgiven their answers, with some kind of prize being given to certainplayers. “Voting” type questions can also be combined with deterministictype questions so as to begin by selecting from amongst the answersprovided by the players and then, at the lot-drawing stage, to continueby retaining only players who have answered at least some of suchquestions correctly.

This second type of game includes a random element (drawing lots) andpresents a collective nature, since some minimum population of playersis necessary before it is possible to envisage drawing lots.

Many different interactive electronic games are known, such as, e.g., asfound in U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,754 (“System and method for interactivegame-play scheduled based on real-life events”), U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,460(“Method and apparatus for coordinating an interactive computer gamewith a broadcast television program”), U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,074(“Interactive quiz game system and method”), U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,974(“Interactive game system”), U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,272 (“Multi-playerinteractive electronic game for health education”), U.S. Pat. No.5,791,991 (“Interactive consumer product promotion method and matchgame”), U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,075 (“Interactive multi-media game systemand method”), U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,379 (“Electronically interactivelocation-based multimedia game system and method”), and U.S. Pat. No.6,299,535 (“Method of processing interactive game, program product andgame system for the same”), the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is toprovide a game that can be played by one or more players accessing acomputer-implemented site controlled by a game operator.

The present invention proposes a novel type of game based on questionsand answers, which game is deterministic (with only a minimum randomcontent) and individual, but which is not necessarily a knowledge game,i.e. it can be accessible to most people, insofar as the idea is merelyfor the player to be entertained with some hope of winnings, as opposedmerely to testing players' general knowledge.

More precisely, the game of the present invention is based on usingopinion polls that have already been carried out in the appropriatemanner on a representative sample of a population of people. The pollsmay be polls that have already been carried out in public, or they maybe carried out specifically for the game of the invention, or they maypossibly be carried out by implementing the invention as describedbelow.

The results of the polls may be expressed in numerical form such aspercentages of positive or negative opinions, or possibly percentages ofdon't knows or, indeed, in accordance with a particularly advantageouscharacteristic of the invention, they may be in the form of making aclassification by preferences; in all cases they are expressedunambiguously.

The results (percentages, classifications, etc.) are grouped together ina knowledge base and stored as a series of predetermined referenceanswers in association with a corresponding battery of predefinedquestions.

The idea on which the invention is based consists in presenting thesevarious questions in succession to the players and in asking them to notto give their own opinions, i.e., not asking the players themselves tovote. Rather, the players are asked to guess what they believe otherpeople think. In other words, players are asked to make their ownestimates of the reference answers that are known to the game operatorbut unknown to the players.

An answer made by a player is then compared with the reference answerstored in the knowledge base, and the player's score is modified uponapplication of predetermined rules as a function of the result of thecomparison.

Change in a player's score depends only on that player's astuteness ingiving the most pertinent answers possible, and no random elementinfluences the score since the score is modified solely as a function ofknown elements constituted by the knowledge base and the predeterminedscore-varying rules.

A first implementation of the present invention comprises asking theuser to select and/or classify a certain number of headings as afunction of the player's estimate of the preference of the largestnumber of people. For example, the player can be asked to select from alist of twenty songs to produce the player's estimate of the three (orfour, or five) songs that are preferred by a given population of people,e.g., teenagers. The selection made by the player and/or the order inwhich the selections are classified is then compared with the referenceanswer stored in the knowledge base, and the player's score is modifiedas a function of the pertinence of the answer given.

In a second implementation of the game of the present invention, acomparison is made between numerical values, and the score is modifiedas a function of the difference between the answer given and theexpected answer, i.e. the reference answer. The reference answer may beconstituted, for example, by a percentage of favorable opinions asobtained by an earlier poll of a given population of people, and thescore given to the player increases with decreasing difference betweenthe percentage estimated by the player and the real percentage. Abovesome threshold difference, a player's score may even be lowered, so asto penalize a player who gives answers that are not sufficientlypertinent.

The game thus continues with a battery of questions, the player's scorevarying up or down as the player answers. Once the score reaches acertain threshold, then the operator proposes giving the player a prize,either determined, or variable as a function of the final scoreobtained.

In a variant implementation, the questioning sequence is itself used ina first stage to constitute the knowledge base and to determine for eachquestion the corresponding reference answer that is to be used in asecond stage for playing the game proper. Thus, two questions are put toplayers: firstly to give their own opinions on the question, andsecondly to give their estimates (in accordance with a maincharacteristic of the invention) of what they think will be the opinionsof others, i.e. the population of players answering the question duringthe first stage.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An implementation of the invention is described below in greater detailwith reference to the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the sequence of various steps in the gameof the invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are screen captures showing an example of how a questioncan be presented and how the player can answer it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in thedrawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake ofclarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to thespecific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that eachspecific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in asimilar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

The present invention may advantageously be implemented via adistributed computer network such as the Internet. According to apreferred embodiment, the player connects to an Internet site using acomputer, but this configuration is not limiting in any way, and thepresent invention can be implemented wherever it is possible to performa two-way exchange of data that is interactive between the player and acentral site run by a game operator. In particular, the invention may beimplemented by means of mobile telephones that receive the questions,display them on their screens, and return the answers to the centralsite. It is also possible to implement the invention by means of atelevision set provided with a return path (e.g., a return via atelephone line or via the Internet), with questions being presented toplayers on the TV screen and with the players answering them by means oftheir remote controls.

In order to implement the invention, the game operator has an existingknowledge base containing a battery of questions, which are thequestions of an opinion poll previously carried out on a sample that isrepresentative of a population in application of conventional pollingtechniques. The knowledge base also stores, for each question, acorresponding reference answer which is the result obtained by means ofthe poll.

According to a first embodiment, the game is implemented on an Internetsite to which players are connected, and the different steps are assummarized in FIG. 1.

After waiting for a player to connect to the network (step 10) and assoon as the player is connected (step 12), preferably via a directaccess without an intermediate portal, the game operator looks to seewhether the player is already known or whether the player is a newplayer. This verification is performed by testing (step 14) whether thevisitor is or is not already registered, or whether the player'scomputer contains a “cookie” that has already been installed in thecomputer by the operator.

In the absence of any registration (or cookie) the operator registersthe player in the database and simultaneously installs a cookie in theplayer's computer so as to be able to recognize that player subsequently(step 16). In the absence of a cookie, the game site tests its ownplayer database to determine whether the pseudonym and the associatedpassword are already part of the game.

At the beginning of a session the player also receives an advance or“chip”, e.g. 1000 points. The advance is interest free and is notreimbursable. The initial score corresponds to the value of the chip.

The following step (step 20) includes displaying the questions on theplayer's screen and then selecting the questions one after another and,for each of them, receiving the answer(s) made by the player (step 22).The questions may be predetermined, or they may be a series of questionsdepending on some particular choice expressed by the player or dependingon other conditions as explained below.

A first question is then put to the player who gives a numericalestimate of what the player thinks is the answer given by the poll. Byway of example, the choice offered to the player may be presented in theform of a grid with a series of boxes, and with the player clicking insome particular box in order to make a choice.

In its simplest form, the question is a binary question (“Do you preferCharlie Chaplin or Woody Allen?”) and the answer is quantified by apercentage value for this answer (e.g. 75% for “75% of people preferCharlie Chaplin”).

Naturally, other forms of questions are possible. Thus, in anadvantageous variant, instead of asking the player to provide anumerical estimate of the result of a poll, the player is asked toclassify some number of headings that are shown to the player. Forexample, the player may be asked to classify song titles as a functionof the popularity which the player assumes general opinion gives tothose songs. The questions may also ask the player to select from alonger list. For example, the player can be asked to select and/orclassify three, four, or five titles from a list of twenty shown to theplayer, like punters betting on the first three, four, or five horses ina race. Naturally, the more pertinent the selection and/or theclassification, the greater the increase in the score, and vice versa.

In order to make the game more attractive, it is possible to allow theplayer to put greater or smaller stakes on certain answers, by applyinga multiplicative coefficient to the gain or the loss that will beapplied to the score. Thus, if a player believes the chances of giving agood answer are high, then the player can opt to double the winnings tobe allocated after the next answer. Conversely, if the answer is notpertinent, then the loss to the player's score will be amplifiedsimilarly.

In a variant implementation, the player may also be asked not only togive what the player believes to be the right answer, i.e., what theplayer believes the result of the opinion poll will indicate, but alsoto give the player's own opinion on the question.

The answer is then processed and a new score is computed (step 24). Atthis time, the game operator updates the database in which players areregistered to note that, for the player in question, such-and-such aquestion has already been asked. This record of questions already askedis maintained to avoid asking the same question subsequently,particularly if the game runs over a plurality of sessions separated byconnections and disconnections. A player can thus leave the gametemporarily, and return to it subsequently during another free moment,secure in the knowledge that the game can be restarted from thepreviously-achieved score and the same questions will not be askedagain.

As a variant on implementation of the present invention, the player mayreceive positive or negative points, i.e. points which are added to orsubtracted from the existing score, depending on the difference betweenthe answer given by the player and the reference answer stored in theknowledge base. For example:

+15 points for a difference between the two answers lying in the range 0to 5 percentage points;

+10 points for a difference in the range 5 to 10;

+5 points for a difference in the range 10 to 15;

+2 points for a difference in the range 15 to 20;

−2 points for a difference in the range 20 to 25;

−5 points for a difference in the range 25 to 30; and

−20 points for a difference greater than 30 points.

This rule can be expressed by the meta-language flow chart given below,purely by way of illustration: repeat until (answer = OK) or (number oftests < 6)   if question rank < > 1 then display messages (“Too low”)(“Too high”)   end if input answer end repeat case answer 0-5 then score= score + (15 * stake) case answer 5-10 then score = score + (10 *stake) case answer 10-15 then score = score + (5 * stake) case answer15-20 then score = score + (2 * stake) case answer 20-25 then score =score + (−2 * stake) case answer 25-30 then score = score + (−5 * stake)otherwise score = score + (−20 * stake)

In this flow chart, the first three lines correspond to a particularvariant in which the player is guided in making an answer. Once theplayer has given an estimate, the game operator informs the player ifthe estimate is above or below the reference answer (which the playerdoes not know), thus giving the player the option of trying to getcloser by successive approximations, naturally with a limited number ofiterations.

Furthermore, this flow chart includes the above-mentioned option givento the player of modifying the stake bet on a given question, thushaving the effect of amplifying the gain or the loss applied to thecurrent score on evaluating the answer. All of these variableimplementations relating to successive approximation of the answer andscoring on the basis of closeness to the reference answer are optionaladditions and are not necessary to practice the underlying basis of thepresent invention.

Other questions are put to the player and the score changes, going up ordown with the answers made by the player. If the score reaches a giventhreshold, e.g. 1020 points, the game operator gives the player theoption of either receiving a prize, in which case the chip is reset tozero, or else of continuing in order to attempt to increase the scoreeven more.

The prize is advantageously a prize of varying size, depending on thedifference observed between the score obtained and the value of thechip. For example, a difference of 1020−1000=20 points gives the playerthe right to purchase the equivalent of 20 points' worth of goods in ashop, or to receive 20 minutes of free calling via a telephone operator,or to gain free access to a normally paid-for Internet site, etc. Theprize can also be the award of additional points.

To allocate a desired prize type, the game operator asks the player(step 28) to give information suitable for individualizing the player,and also data that might be useful in the “data mining” contextunderlying the game.

It should be observed that the game can be implemented eitheranonymously or with named players. There is no need for the player togive the operator a true identity, but the operator may neverthelessdesire this for commercial reasons.

Individualization data may comprise the player's name (or a pseudonym ifanonymity can be preserved), a password, and possibly a simplifiedquestionnaire (male or female, age, socio-professional category, etc.).

In addition to giving a prize, the game operator may perform more globaltreatment (step 30) amongst a plurality of players. For example, thegame operator may organize a periodic championship (daily, weekly, etc.)amongst the best players, or allow them to draw lots for exceptionalprizes, etc.

In a preferred variant of the invention, the questions and the way inwhich answers are given can be presented in the manner shown in FIGS. 2and 3 so that, in accordance with a particularly advantageousimplementation of the invention, the game can be performed solely byusing a mouse to answer the questions, without using the keyboard.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the question consists in asking theplayer to classify the assumed order of preference of four Beatles songswhose titles are presented in no particular order on the player's screen(fields 50 to 56). The player can respond by dragging the fields so asto make a stack of them, with the preferred title being at the top ofthe stack, as shown in FIG. 3. A button 58 marked “this is my guess”serves to enter the answer and send it to the operator.

A button 60 marked “tell me the answer” gives the user the option ofskipping this question and asking the operator to give the true answer.The fields 50 to 56 then become animated on the screen so as toreconstruct a stack illustrating the reference answer, i.e., the answerwhich the player should have given. Naturally, under such circumstances,the player is penalized by reducing the score, or by stopping the gameif the player skips more than a threshold number of questions.

The player's screen also has a display 62 of the current score togetherwith an indication 64 of the time that has elapsed since starting, itbeing possible for the game to be time-limited, e.g., by applying a“time-out” so as to force the player to react quickly.

The player's screen may also have a button marked “PRIZES” that isnormally grayed out (i.e. inactive) and that becomes transformed into anactive button (e.g. a red button) as soon as, and for as long as, theplayer's score is greater than 1020 points.

The topics of the questions asked can be highly varied, and the batteryof questions is not necessarily unchanging.

The questions may optionally relate to topics that are frequentlyupdated, such as “the personality of the week” or “the event of theweek” so as to enable questions to be renewed quickly, making the gamemore attractive to potential players and also to the media.

The player may also select particular themes, such as, e.g.:

by subject: films, songs, etc. or by selecting a particular word(“music”, “war”, etc.) that appears in the question, and/or

by operator (the word “operator” being used in its formal logic sense) :classified by order of preference or a binary operator of the “moredangerous than”, “better than”, “more useful than”, etc. type. By way ofexample, this selection can be performed using pull-down menus madeavailable to the player, which are presented on the screen before thebeginning of the game or while the game is underway.

The questions may also be generated automatically as a function ofchoices made by the user and by using a question generator of thecombinatory type; under such circumstances, the questions are no longerpredefined but are generally generated on the basis of selections madeby players, thus making it possible to greatly increase the variety ofquestions.

Other criteria for selecting questions can also be envisaged, forexample choosing between “long” questions or “short” questions,depending on the number of words in the text of the question. Questionsmay also be selected on the basis of the average length of the words inthe question, the number of syllables, etc. Furthermore, the questionsmay be selected using pull-down menus that present, for example, justthe first words (or letters) of the question, the last words (orletters) of the question, or certain words within the questions.

Question selection can also include a chance contribution, byintroducing selection that is partially or completely random and basedin particular on the type of question, for example a simple question (abinary question or a multiple choice question) or a combinatory question(where the player is asked to classify a plurality of elements). Thequestion itself may be selected from all of the questions available inthe battery of questions. For a question that is combinatory, the numberof elements that the player needs to classify can be varied, e.g., theplayer may be asked to list the best three, four, or five elements.

Furthermore, for a question of the combinatory type, the number ofpossible combinations quickly becomes very large, for example 4!=24possible combinations with four elements, i.e. four elements can beclassified in 24 different ways, giving a spectrum of 24 possibleanswers. Under such circumstances, it may be desirable to introduce aparameter that makes the game easier by reducing the spectrum ofpossible answers. The player must then give an answer from a smallernumber of potential answers, e.g., 24/2=12 or 24/4=6 possibilities only,where these twelve or six possible answers are displayed on the screenso as to enable the player to select them.

The foregoing descriptions and drawings should be considered asillustrative only of the principles of the invention. The invention maybe configured in a variety of shapes and sizes and is not limited by thedimensions of the preferred embodiment. Numerous applications of thepresent invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art.Therefore, it is not desired to limit the invention to the specificexamples disclosed or the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalents may beresorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

1. A method of allocating a prize to at least one individual using acomputer system having at least one host computer terminal forpresenting and collecting -data, a question engine for sending a batteryof successive predefined questions to the individual, and a knowledgebase storing a predetermined reference answer for each question, saidpredefined questions being questions of an opinion poll previouslycarried out on a representative sample of a population, said referenceanswers being results obtained by the poll, said method comprising thesteps of: a) on the host terminal, presenting the individual with one ofthe questions from the battery of predefined questions; b) asking theindividual to guess the reference answer, the answer as given being aquantified value for said guess; c) collecting the answer made from saidindividual; d) comparing the answer given with the correspondingreference answer stored in the knowledge base and evaluating adifference value representative of the difference between the answergiven and the reference answer; e) incrementing or decrementing a scorevalue as a function of said difference value; f) comparing theincremented or decremented score with a predefined threshold; g) if thescore exceeds the threshold, giving the individual a choice betweencontinuing with the sequence of questions, iterating the preceding stepsfrom step b) with another question from the battery of questions; orallocating a prize; and i) if the score does not exceed the threshold,iterating the preceding steps from step b) with another question fromthe battery of questions.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the prizeallocated in step g) is a prize of a value that depends on thedifference between the predefined threshold and the score.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the prize is a number of points awarded to theindividual.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the prize is a tangibleitem.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the prize is a service to beperformed for the individual.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein step c)further includes obtaining the answer that the individual would havegiven personally to the question.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thepredefined questions are questions having a closed set of answers of themultiple choice type.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the answer givenby the individual in step b) includes classifying a plurality of saidmultiple choices.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the answer given bythe individual in step b) is an answer selected from a limited subset ofthe set of different combinations that are possible amongst saidmultiple choices.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising a priorstage of establishing said reference answers from a population of saidindividuals, said prior stage comprising the successive steps of: i) onthe host terminal, presenting the individual with a question from thebattery of predefined questions, asking the individual to give his orher own opinion on said question as an answer and collecting saidanswer; ii) repeating step i) iteratively with a plurality of questionsfrom the battery of questions; iii) repeating steps i) and ii) withother individuals; and iv) statistically processing the collectedanswers so as to set up said reference answers and storing saidreference answers in the knowledge base.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein step a) comprises selecting a question from said battery ofpredefined questions by means of a random draw.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein step a) includes selecting a question from said battery ofpredefined questions by means of the individual selecting a parameter.13. The method of claim 11, wherein step a) includes selecting aquestion from said battery of predefined questions by means of theindividual selecting a parameter.
 14. The method of claim 1, whereinsteps a) and b) are implemented via a graphical interface having aseries of fields displayed on a screen of said host terminal, the fieldsbeing movable by controlled action of the individual so as to cause themto slide on the screen and form a stack representative of the answergiven.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising before step a), thestep of initially allocating, by the host terminal, a starting scorevalue to the individual, said starting score value being the score valueincremented or decremented in step e).